A/N: Short, again, but that's the nature of intermissions, n'est pas?

Pokémon and all related official material belong to whomever they happen to belong to, which doesn't happen to be me; I only lay claim to characters of my origin.

Chapter XII – Intermission

No one's quite sure how it happened—at least, by the time I'd died no one knew for sure. The only issue was that it had happened, and it had changed Karen—hopefully, for the better.

Karen was staying with us in Mahogany Town—her parents had gone on a business trip to Almia, and their daughter, scared of Pokémon, came to stay with us. There were strict Trainer-limiting laws in Almia—even worse than Fiore—that prevented Ren and Kyra from taking more than a single Pokémon; at that point, Ren had been working with a stubborn, unfriendly Buneary, and brought her with him; Myst, therefore, had to stay behind, and she stayed with us in Mahogany as well, much to Karen's frustration. The other Pokémon in the Day Care were left under the most competent of Ren's assistants.

We—that is to say, my father, brother and I—were out that day. Ryan had shown interest in taking the Gym Leader position that Pryce was planning on vacating, and had gone to learn the ropes, and I, as any younger brother were wont to do, had gone with him. Dad—well, he'd just gone shopping, but then he did that a lot, single parent that he was. Four people in the house, plus Ryan's three Pokémon, Dad's Manectric, and Myst, made for a lot of groceries. Karen had remained at home—she wasn't much of a shopper, especially not for groceries, and of course the alternative was spending time in a cold room filled with Pokémon. Myst, protective as always, had stayed with her, lying languidly in the entryway, out of Karen's way.

And then… Well, I guess it's not my place to say. Karen recalled the event to me later—in the gruesome detail that fear provides—and so perhaps she should tell you instead.

Karen - Four Years Ago; Saturday, July 17th, 3:49 PM

I was jerked away from my reading by the sound of Myst growling. My heart raced, and it was all that I could do not to leap to the floor and hide. Had she finally decided to eat me…?

The noise subsided, and I released my death grip on the book. Now, however, I was restless and paranoid, and, after trying to return to the book several times, set the book down and pushed myself off of the bed and onto the floor.

After several minutes of staring dully out the window, I chided myself for being so afraid. I should have been used to the growls by now—it was easy to see that Myst and Uncle Kevin's Manectric did not get along. Falling asleep at night I would always hope that they'd tear each other up in the night so I wouldn't have to deal with either of them.

I'm…such a coward.

Despite everyone's urgings, I could not overcome my fear completely, though it had improved—there was a point when I was younger that my dad had told me I'd become nearly schizophrenic. Pokémon were intelligent beings—they thought on some level, though apparently not as deeply as humans; but despite that they were still instinctual, base creatures, irrational and untrustworthy. They had powers that humans even today couldn't understand.

There were gentle ones—I knew that, I'd met several gentle Pokémon, ones that obviously sensed my fear and attempted to work around it. But so deeply engrained was my fear that even though I was almost positive of their intentions I wouldn't let them within a foot of me.

Myst started to growl again, and I jumped. I cast a glare in her general direction, frustrated that she'd knocked me out of my reverie. The noise only escalated, and I turned to tromp over to the bed and fold the pillow over my ears…

I froze. A burning smell had worked its way into my room.

Fire? Did she…start a fire?

KABOOM.

Then there was fire everywhere.

I reeled, deafened by the noise of something exploding, and feeling the heat of the flames as they raced into the room. The Cards were somewhat wealthy, and so had had hardwood floors and wooden dressers and the like—high-end mahogany and oak. All the wood that had been a sign of wealth was burning up like so much kindling.

My hearing returned, and as I backed away toward the window I heard somebody screaming; then I realized that I was hearing myself.

The window was at my back, and the house was only one story, but I had frozen in fear, completely sure I was going to die.

A golden-orange shape streaked out of the fire, snarling, and I screamed again—

…

"Karen!? Karen!"

"Is… alright?"

"Wh…yst?"

"What…ppened, any…!?"

I opened my eyes and immediately tried to force them shut as someone shone a flashlight straight into them.

"Come on, dear, I need your eyes open… Are you alright?"

The air was cool, and I felt grass beneath my hands. I let out a slow breath, and opened my eyes again. This time I managed to survive the light in my eyeballs, though not without squinting. Through the afterimages in my view I recognized a nurse from the local Pokémon Center, who let out a sigh of her own when I nodded weakly.

"She's awake," she called over my head, and I heard three pairs of footsteps rushing toward me.

"Karen, are you alright?" exclaimed Kevin.

"What happened, yo?" inquired Ryan. Joshua remained silent, though I could see he was pale after my uncle helped me sit up.

"You can be sure we'll investigate this thoroughly," said someone in the background.

Past my cousins' worried faces I saw the house. The fire was out, and most of the building had survived unscathed, though the kitchen looked as though it had been atomized.

"This'll take ages to fix… We just got this house, too, man," muttered Ryan. "Not to mention…" he trailed off and glanced at my uncle, who looked upset over more than the fact that part of his house had blown up. Had something happened to his Manectric?

Thinking of the one reminded me of the other, and I gasped, "Myst?"

"What?" snapped Joshua in disbelief. "You nearly die in a fire and the first word out of your mouth after you wake up is the name of a Pokémon?"

"Where is she!?"

"She… had to be taken to the Center," I heard Kevin mumble. "Along with Manectric. She… well, two of her tails were broken and one of her legs fractured from debris… There's also evidence that she suffered a blow to the head."

"Why…?" Then I remembered. "She… she saved me. She wrapped some of her tails around me and carried me out."

The shock began to wear off, and I began to tremble. I got unsteadily to my feet, despite Ryan's protests; I stumbled and lurched, latching onto the closest person, which happened to be Joshua.

"Whoa… Karen?"

"She saved me," I gasped, starting to cry. "She saved me, and now she might…"

"She's a Ninetales," he reassured me after a moment, wrapping his arms around me. "She'll be fine."

"B-but… I… I've never done anything to even warrant her attention… I've even hated her, and she saved me… She saved my life…"

Manectric died. The paramedics said there was nothing they could have done—he was dead before they arrived. Myst, it turned out, had several broken bones and a small head injury—but by the time the Center's Chansey were done with her, she hardly had a scar to show for it. And as soon as she walked out of the Center she gravitated toward Joshua. I looked at her; she looked at me, and I looked away, unable to decide what to say.

That night, though, in the hotel room I had been given—as part of the Gym Leader's extended family—she sat at the foot of my bed and stared at the wall, silent. She knew from experience that I wanted nothing to do with her, but obviously felt obligated to make sure I was safe.

"Myst," I said after a long silence, in a tiny voice. I heard the Ninetales gasp, surprised, but she got to her feet—her head rose a good foot and a half above the hotel bed—and stared at me.

Then, for the first time, I stuck out my hand as I'd seen Dad and Joshua do so many times, and said, "C…come here, please."

Her fur was not hot, but rather pleasantly warm, and soft and silky as…well, silk. I stroked the tuft of fur at the crown of her head, and she, after getting over the shock that I was actually touching her, craned her head up. Her breath touched my lower arm, and I drew it back—her breath was hot. She immediately dropped her head, apparently ashamed, but I, after steeling myself, reached out again and began to stroke her soft fur.

"Nnninetales…"

"Th…that's n-not so bad," I reasoned with myself, and then realized, "I'm touching a Pokémon."

Myst froze, inhaling sharply.

"But…she's not hurting me…"

"Ninetales."

"M…Myst." I swallowed, then rolled out of bed. I crouched down to the Pokémon's level, hesitated a moment, then buried my face in her warm, soft fur. "I'm… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Two Weeks Later; Azalea Town; 2:30 PM

"Pikachu?" asked Cirrus curiously as I stared at her across the kitchen table. She glanced at me, then quickly looked away.

My parents had returned from Almia as early as they could after hearing about the explosion at Joshua's, worried about Myst and I (though this still took two weeks because of some sort of contract); both of them were absolutely stunned when they found us in the hotel's lobby with her lying comfortably across my feet.

The Pikachu bent back down to her food bowl again. I got slowly to my feet and got behind her before her ear twitched and she froze.

She quickly unfroze as I scratched her back, however. She shook herself and turned toward me, head cocked in a "What's-going-on?" kind of way. I reached out a hand as I'd done with Myst—Cirrus' eyes followed my hand as it moved—and scratched her between the ears, and she made a pleased noise.

"Pika… Chu Pikachu?"

"I'm not scared anymore," I breathed, both to her and to myself, in wonder. "I can touch them. They won't hurt me." I reached down and grabbed the Pikachu off of the table, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm not scared anymore!"

Nathaniel

Curiosity finally got the best of him, and Nathan flew down to land on the Center's room's dresser next to Josh, who had been staring at Karen for the past hour.

'What's up?'

'…Decided to be civil?' asked Joshua absently.

'Hey, I know I'm a bit of an ass, but…' Nathan bit his tongue, deciding that this wasn't the best way to start a conversation. 'Can we just say we got off on the wrong foot? I've been under a lot of pressure for about half a year now—since I was put into this body—and I guess I can't unwind all at once.' He had been an ass before this, too, but not so much. '...Agh. Anyway, like I said, what's up?'

'Tell me about yourself,' suggested the Chikorita.

'Wha…?'

Josh sent a sideways glance at the Swablu; he looked irritated. 'You come in and act like a jerk to everyone but Noah, and suddenly you profess to be a nice guy who's curious about what other people think. Call me a skeptic, but I don't buy it.'

Nathan opened his beak, then shut it. 'Touché.'

'I figure, if you want to know about someone, first you tell your story, then they tell theirs.'

'Aren't you curious about me?' he asked suspiciously.

'Sure, but I've got other things on my mind. You're the one who wants to know. You talk, then I'll talk.'

Nathan glared at the Chikorita as he returned his gaze to his Trainer. '…It's not worth the trouble.'

'…Ass,' muttered Joshua as Nathan flew back up to Noah. The boy was staring morosely up at the ceiling, his hands running over Pearl's PokéBall. The Chikorita was stable at last, and healing, though it would be another few hours before it was safe for her to wake up, and another few past that before she could be discharged.

He sighed, and Nathan gasped slightly; he was on the boy's stomach, and had not been prepared for the sudden, if slight, elevation drop.

"I'm worried about her," he murmured, not for the first time.

'She's an immature daddy's-little-girl who's too polite for her own good,' Nathan assured him in an even voice, and the boy smiled.

"You're worried about her, too, aren't you?"

'No. Not really.' It was not in Nathan's character to care overmuch about others.

The room was heavy with depression, the silence so profound that Nathan felt almost weighted down by it.

"Why are you still here, Karen?" asked Noah after several minutes.

"What?" she responded, sounding half asleep.

"Pearl's my Pokémon, and you've already beaten Falkner. You don't have any reason to stay here."

Nathan heard her hesitate. "I…don't know. I just thought…" She paused. "A journey's more fun with several companions. We both have Chikorita, they seem to get along pretty well… You're not native to Johto, so it's best that you've got someone who knows a bit about it with you…"

'"People only give multiple reasons for something when they're searching for what the other person wants to hear,"' quoted Nathan. (1)

But Noah seemed more or less content at this, and only nodded.

"I'm sorry about your Chikorita," Karen continued.

"It's not your fault."

'You're the kind of person that likes to take the blame, aren't you?' Nathan thought he heard Joshua inhale sharply. 'A little sacrificial Mareep …'

'Nathan, shut up!' exclaimed Josh.

"Josh! Seriously, I'll put you in your Ball again if you keep growling at Cumulus."

Nathan changed positions, perching on the sideguard of the upper bunk and staring down at Joshua. There was a strange fire in the Chikorita reborn's eyes, an irritation, an urge to protect Karen that went beyond the fact that he was her Pokémon.

'What is she to you?' he asked.

'She's my…' He stopped, shook his head. 'No. If you really want to know…'

'…Sister?' No reaction. 'Girlfriend? Ah… cousin?'

Joshua cursed quietly and dropped from the dresser, passing out of Nathan's field of vision as he climbed up onto Karen's bunk. Nathan didn't chase him, satisfied at the other's irritation; he remained perched on the bunk's guard for another few minutes as a moody silence fell upon the room again; then he returned to the pillow next to Noah's head.

"Tomorrow's our Independence Day," said Karen a few minutes later. Nathan grunted and woke up from the half-sleep he'd just found.

'Oh yeah,' said Josh. 'The day we officially declared our independence from Kanto…'

"Oh?" said Noah.

"Yeah. There'll be parties all over; lots of businesses will be closed… I'm just saying… It may be hard to get a battle with Falkner tomorrow."

"If you're tired of waiting for me," interrupted Noah before she could continue, "then go ahead and leave."

Nathan cast a critical glance at the boy. He had obstinately crossed his arms and was looking straight up, an angry expression on his face.

'What's with you, anyway?' he wondered, more to himself than not. 'You bipolar, or what?'

"No, that's not…" Karen sighed. "…I can't stand people who jump so readily to conclusions."

"Then I guess you can't stand me. Whatever. I don't need your help, anyway…"

'But Pearl…' Josh sounded desperate. 'Guys, come on, don't… don't do this…Not… not now… '

"Let's go, Josh."

'But… Karen, hey! No, Karen, I made a promise…!'

Nathan could hear Joshua continue to protest even as the door shut, though eventually it faded into silence.

(1)"People only give…wants to hear": A quote by Gregory House, from the show House, M.D.—the episode entitled "It's a Wonderful Lie."

A/N: …Yeah. That's right. I quoted House.